Pursuing Social and Emotional Development Through a Racial Equity Lens: A Call to Action

Both equity and social, emotional, and academic development are currently receiving much-needed attention, but neither can fully succeed without recognizing strengths and addressing gaps in these complementary priorities. Rather than being pursued as two separate bodies of work, the field needs to identify ways in which equity and social, emotional, and academic development can be mutually reinforcing. To accomplish this requires examining issues of race directly; this can be difficult and uncomfortable, but we cannot avoid race and let the challenges go unacknowledged and, therefore, inadequately addressed.

The following individuals and organizations endorse the content of this brief and join the Aspen Institute Education & Society Program in a call to action to ensure education leaders actively integrate a culturally and racially responsive approach to social, emotional, and academic development in P-12 schooling.

David Adams, Urban Assembly

Katie Ahsell, Community Consolidated School District 59, Illinois

Linda Allen

Whitney Allgood, National School Climate Center

Carol Allred, Positive Action, Inc.

Rahesha Amon-Harrison, NYC Department of Education

Karen Anderson, District 75, New York City Department of Education

Alex Ariemma

Kay Augustine

Laura Bakosh, Inner Explorer

Oscar Barbarin, University of Maryland, College Park

Joyce Bartz, Evanston/Skokie School District 65, Illinois

Alli Begel, Milwaukee Public Schools, Wisconsin

Rachel Belfield, Committee for Children

Sheldon Berman, Andover Public Schools, Massachusetts

Kara Bobroff, Native American Community Academy

Jan Brabham, Carolina Day School, North Carolina

Marc Brackett, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence

John Bridgeland, Civic Enterprises

Karen Bridges, Elk Grove Unified School District, California

Catherine Brown, Center for American Progress

Sara Burd, Reading Public Schools, Massachusetts

LaWanda Burgoyne, Capital School District, Delaware

Debra Bush, Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Ohio

Sarah Butcher, SEL for Washington

Regina Caines

Andrew Calkins, Next Generation Learning Challenges

Steve Canavero, Nevada Department of Education

Meria Carstarphen, Atlanta Public Schools

Shar Carter, Langston University

Sydney Chaffee, Codman Academy Charter Public School

Stephen Chang, The National Equity Project

LaShawn Chatmon, The National Equity Project

Velma Cobb, Touro College Lander Center

Jonathan Cohen, National School Climate Center

Becki Cohn-Vargas, Cohn-Vargas Consulting

Baionne Coleman, Impact Public Schools

Melissa Copland, Fresno Unified School District, California

Donna Cross, Evanston/Skokie School District 65, Illinois

Walter Da Luz

Linda Darling-Hammond, Learning Policy Institute

BreAnna Davis, School Readiness Consulting

Michele De La Garza, San Antonio Independent School District, Texas

Marissa del Rosario

Beatriz DeSantiago-Fjelstad, Minneapolis Public Schools, Minnesota

Nina Dibner, PowerTools

Itai Dinour, Einhorn Family Charitable Trust

Diarra Diouf, MomsRising

Stephanie Drenka

Mary Driscoll, Boston Public Schools, Massachusetts

Kamilah Drummond-Forrester, Open Circle

Joan Cole Duffell, Committee for Children

Brandon Dukes

Jeff Duncan-Andrade, San Francisco State University

Will Dunford, San Francisco Unfied School District, California

Roberta Duvall, Washoe County School District, Nevada

Bren Elliott, District of Columbia Public Schools

Alison Elmer, Arlington Public Schools, Massachusetts

Dale Erquiaga, Communities In Schools

Camille A. Farrington, University of Chicago Consortium on School Research

Meg Fenech, A2 STEAM School, Michigan

Jinni Forcucci, Delaware Teacher of the Year 2018

Deborah Forshaw, Children’s Services Council of Broward County, Florida

Denise Forte, The Century Foundation

Julia Gabor, kid-grit

Theresa Garcia, Austin Independent School District, Texas

Linda Gibbens, Urbana School District 116, Illinois

Nate Gibbs-Bowling, Lincoln High School

Libia Gil, Illinois State Board of Education

Merryl Gladstone

Malaika Golden, Aiton Elementary School, District of Columbia Public Schools